Friday, September 3, 2010

iCould is a UK-based website that features videos of people sharing their career stories. The stories cover people in all types of careers and at all phases of their working careers. One of the the main purposes of iCould is to expose viewers to what different types of jobs really entail. Visitors to iCould can search for stories by job type, life theme, or keyword tags.

Applications for EducationWhen I looked at iCould I couldn't help but think of it as a modern take on Studs Terkel's Working. iCould could be useful for guidance counselors and anyone else charged with helping students explore their education and career interests.

Shout Reel is a free service that allows you to create a private or public chat area or message system. When you create a Shout Reel account you can post messages to any public "reel" (they're term for a message community). You can also create your own private or public reel. If you make the reels you create private, you have to assign a password and give that password to anyone that you want to be able to post messages in your reel. Shout Reel messages can include text, links, and file attachments. You can also post a video message to a reel by using your laptop's web cam.

Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo for his post about Shout Reel earlier this week.

Applications for EducationShout Reel, like a lot of free chat and messaging systems, could be useful for hosting backchannel discussions with your students. The nice thing about Shout Reel is that if you or your students want to do more than just exchange written messages, Shout Reel gives you those options. You could post a discussion question in a reel you create for your class then have students respond by sharing their thoughts via typed messages or, for students who are more comfortable talking than they are writing, through video messages to the class.

On Sunday I asked you to share your best advice for new teachers. In total, after removing the spam submissions, there were 131 submissions. As I promised, I've compiled all of the tips into a Google presentation. When it was listed, I linked to the Twitter account or blog of the person submitting a tip. Thank you to everyone that took the time to submit their best advice for new teachers.

Disclaimer: Publication of the tips in the slides does not mean that they are all endorsed by myself or by the advertisers on Free Technology for Teachers.